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GCforum Topic 9: Body PartsDonor kidneys are in short supply(Friday, 06 October 2006)BBC NewsIs It Ethical for Patients with Renal Disease to Purchase Kidneys from the World's Poor?The Public Library of Science
October Issue 2006
Tarif Bakdash, Nancy Scheper-Hughes<http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0030349>"Background to the debate: In many countries, the number of patients waiting for a kidney transplant is increasing. But there is a widespread and serious shortage of kidneys for transplantation, a shortage that can lead to suffering and death.One approach to tackling the shortage is for a patient with renal disease to buy a kidney from a living donor, who is often in a developing country, a sale that could -- in theory at least -- help to lift the donor out of poverty." "Such kidney sales are almost universally illegal. Proponents of kidney sales argue that since the practice is widespread, it would be safer to formally regulate it, and that society should respect people's autonomous control over their bodies. Critics express concern about the potential for exploitation and coercion of the poor, and about the psychological and physical after-effects on the donors of this illegal kidney trade."An Organ swap film festivalexamining the ethical issues of organ transplantation is set to get under way at the Edinburgh Filmhouse next month and will address the question. The event will cover topics relating to transplantation, including films about organ trafficking and the ethics of putting animal organs into humans.A programme of ten films has been organised, including the cult classic 21 Grams, which stars Sean Penn.Scotsman, United Kingdom 25 October 2006<http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1574032006>See also World First for Medical Film Festival if you are interested in this festivalAllmediascotland, UK 18 October 2006

Grey's Anatomy: Entertaining but IrresponsibleFOX News 24 Oct 2006Organ transplants are the ultimate zero-sum game. For every patient saved, someone else is not. There are many more people needing hearts, livers, lungs and kidneys than there are available organs. Thousands of Americans die each year waiting for a transplant.

The ethics of rich countries "harvesting" human organs from third world global cultures is likely to be a topic that will be around for a very long time -- and will likely be an even greater topic of global conversation/concern after next month's Edinburgh Film Festival featuring organ transplantation and trafficking.
Statistics suggest that the trend of the rich harvesting human organs from the poorer nations and cultures could even increase.
A number of articles related to global human organ concerns follow. Pick out and read at least one article on ethics, one article on the nature of buying/selling organs in principle, and one article on how practices should be globally regulated in terms of future organ colonialism. Then answer the questions at the end.

Stiffer steps needed for organ donations
According to the investigation into hospitals that conduct kidney transplants from living donors, 30 of 135 surveyed institutions said their doctors have refused to do operations due to suspicions over questionable organ donations.The Daily Yomiuri, Japan 23 October 2006